Factors of importance to Doppler indexes of left ventricular filling in 50-year-old hypertensive persons

Altered Left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling has been shown in subjects with hypertension. Age is a major determinant of Doppler indexes of LV dias tolic filling; therefore, a group of subjects of uniform age should prefera bly be chosen, if other determinants of diastolic LV filling are to be stud ied. A limited body of data is available regarding Doppler indexes of LV fi lling in hypertensive persons of a similar age. We therefore evaluated 26 h ypertensive subjects (13 women, and 13 men) 50 years old by Doppler echocar diography. The peak, velocity of early diastolic filling (E wave), the peak velocity of atrial filling (A wave), the early-to-atrial peak velocity (EI A) ratio, and the deceleration time of early velocity were measured. The pe ak E wave velocity was 0.76 +/- 0.11 versus 0.62 +/- 0.13 m/s (P < 0.005), and the EIA ratio was 1.11 +/- 0.24 versus 0.93 +/- 0.23 (P < 0.05) in hype rtensive women and men, respectively. The peak A wave velocity was increase d and the EIA ratio was decreased in both hypertensive women and men compar ed with healthy 50-year-old subjects. In multivariate analyses, LV diameter , body mass index, and gender correlated with the EIA ratio in hypertensive persons. It is concluded that there is a significant difference in. Dopple r LV filling indexes between 50-year-old hypertensive women and men. LV dia meter, gender, and body mass index are independent determinants of LV diast olic inflow in similarly aged hypertensive persons.